Antonín Dvořák: In Nature’s Realm Context In Nature’s Realm was composed between March 31st and July 8th 1891, and the first performance was given the following April in Prague. The trio is connected by themes that represent nature, and to begin with they were going to be published together, until Dvořák changed Read more…
Frédéric Chopin: Nocturne Op.15, No.3 Context Chopin’s catalogue of music reaches around 235 compositions, most of which are for solo piano. He was educated in the tradition of Beethoven, Mozart and Clementi, and was also very much influenced by Haydn and Hummel. Chopin was the first to compose ballades and scherzi Read more…
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No.9 Movement IV Referring back to Bernstein’s theory that every movement represents a farewell to an aspect of life (read more in the previous blog), this movement is a farewell to life itself. The form of the finale can be read in two different ways, either as a Read more…
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No.9 Movement III In his introduction to the symphonic works of Gustav Mahler, Leonard Bernstein claims that each movement of the Ninth Symphony is a farewell in itself, which then feeds into the overriding themes of farewell and death. The first movement is a farewell to passion and Read more…
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No.9 Movement II The second movement has been said to be a ‘dance of death’ or Todtentanz for the original German translation. Adorno was one of the first to publicly characterize this movement, alongside critic Paul Bekker. This movement resonates a previous symphony by Mahler, the Fourth, which uses Read more…
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No.9 Genesis & Movement I Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), composed his Ninth Symphony in the last few years of his life between 1909 and 1910. This Ninth Symphony was the last work that Mahler completed before his death in 1911 (whilst he was part-way through the Tenth Symphony). The Read more…
John Williams: The Imperial March Context John Williams was born in 1932 and his career has since spanned over six decades. He was raised in New York by musical parents, who were active jazz musicians. By 1948 the Williams family had moved to LA where Williams later attended the University of Read more…
Dorothy Ker: A Gentle Infinity Context Dorothy Ker was born in Caterton, New Zealand in 1965. She completed her BMus and MMus degrees at the University of Auckland, where she studied composition with the likes of John Rimmer and Douglas Mews. In terms of her performance, she is known as a Read more…
Ēriks Ešenvalds: Stars Context Ēriks Ešenvalds is a Latvian composer and was born in 1977. He studied at the Latvian Baptist Theological Seminary, before attending the Latvian Academy of Music where he received a Master’s degree in composition. Ešenvalds sung in the State Choir of Latvia until 2011. Since then he has Read more…
Jay Ungar: Ashokan Farewell Context Today’s blog is going differ from all the others as this is a tribute post for someone who taken from us far too soon – our Bryony. Life is incredibly precious, and it’s important to remember how fragile we really are. So I hope some of Read more…